Track Stats to Find Your Way to Success

I know many people who track their statistics religiously.  They know how often they miss fairways left on par 4's VS par 5's.  They know how many times they've birdies the 10th hole after having a hot dog at the turn vs a granola bar.

I love all this type of data.  I hope that you too track at least the basic statistics which include: Greens in Regulation, Fairways Hit, and Putts Per Round.

If you could break those down just a bit further I would try to define how many greens in reg you hit on Par 3's, 4's, and 5's, Fairways Hit on Par 4's and 5's, and putts per green in regulation vs missed greens.

Let's assume you have at least the basics.  Now what do we do with them.  Most people would assume that you would design your practice regimen around them, and I don't disagree.  But it shouldn't stop there.  These statics are all about how you PLAY.  Practice can help us with ball striking, distance control on less-then full shots (putting and short game), as well as confidence building.  If you are averaging over 2 putts per green, then yes you should increase your putting practice.  However, just practicing your putting will not guarantee that you will decrease your putts per round.  You must dissect how you are putting while you PLAY, find the weaknesses, work on them, and be conscious on the course when you encounter your problem area.

Sticking with putting as a topic, most people need to work on two things: Distance control on long putts and accuracy on short ones.  However, if you are lagging your putts nicely and just struggling on getting the shorties in, then focus on those.  The story is you must have a purpose for your practice that will give you the ability to change your results on the course.

Switching gears a bit, lets say you hit 50% of fairway and 50% of greens in reg.  What do you work on?  Tee shots or approach shots?  I would automatically say approach shots considering most courses take 4 drivers out of your hand on Par 3's and give you 3 shots to get on the green on normally 4 Par 5's.  That is at least 8 GREAT chances to hit the green in reg.   If you break that down even further, how many Par 3's greens do you hit in reg?  It should be around 75%.  I'll give you one bad swing, sometimes two (which we make up for with 4 good ones).

So track your stats, plan your practice, and most importantly be aware of when you are on the course and "collecting data"....aka HITTING SHOTS.

JL